Monday, December 3, 2012

Hello to all,It is hard to believe that the year is almost up. I have learned a lot during my time as President and the best part was getting to know so many of you just a little better. Our guild has grown in number and in skill level thanks to your enthusiasm, team spirit, and the wonderful workshops and lectures we have had during the year. Thank you, Debbie, for all your hard work in planning and lining up the programs. Also my special thanks to all my Officers and Committee Chairs this year. I could not have done it without all of you, our membership, volunteering and stepping up at every need. You all have been a blessing to me.This year has been laced with its sad times. We are still looking forward to Melanie West rejoining our activities and pray for her full recovery. Jo Doherty is making a steady recovery and we hope to see her very soon. Other members have had medical difficulties and we wish the best for them in the new year. Recently, the loss of our sister quilters, Patti Offenbacher and Carmen Adger, in November reminds us to appreciate one another and be thankful for each day. We as members of the Baton Rouge Quilt Community feel the absence of their wonderful spirits and unique talents. I look forward to our Christmas Party on Thursday and sharing a meal together. There will be much more than that, though. We will draw for the winners of the Board Quilts (Purple and Gold, and Red, White & Blue), exchange the hand-made item(s) if you wish to participate in this, and WIN A CHRISTMAS QUILT TOP (MAYBE??) There will also be a place to contribute food items for the Baton Rouge Area Food Bank - more about that in the newsletter. See you there!Thanks to all of you for making my first time as a Guild President so wonderful.CynthiaThe Bring List:- A wrapped hand-made gift or ornament for exchange (optional) - Show and Tell- Fiber Name Tag- Canned goods for donation

Monday, November 5, 2012

Hello Guild Friends,What a wonderful program is planned for your enjoyment. Del Horan, former RC guild president, will discuss her love for wool applique and its techniques and will teach a class on Saturday, Nov. 10th. Many of you were members back in 1990's and will have a chance to get reacquainted with Del. JoPaula was not a member of RC then, but her children were enrolled in the University Presbyterian Nursery School where Del was a teacher.Our meeting should also be great with many Mystery Quilts to admire. The Mystery Quilts will be hung for us all to see and we'll vote for our favorites. I also had a chance to see one of the Christmas quilt tops and it is just beautiful. According to Elena, there will be numerous tops to win in December. You may also want to be working on your hand-made item for the Christmas Ornament Exchange.To all my friends who are attending the Houston Show, I hope you have a great time. We want to see and hear about it at the meeting. Please show us any new gadgets or fabrics you buy while there. I may be able to go next year and join the fun.I guess you have been watching that big storm just like me. I've called my friends in New York and they are as ready as they will ever be. I am praying for those affected by this harsh winter storm.I want to thank all the ladies who worked on the auction, especially Maureen and Jackie. What a great job our two novices did last month! They were very brave to step up like that and I'll always appreciate them. I am so blessed to be a part of this guild! I hope to have a representative from the Parker House to accept the donation. Thanks again to all of you who helped and purchased items.See you soon, Cynthiap.s. Remember, November meeting is on the 2nd Thursday of the month rather than the 1st.The Bring List:

Mystery Quilts

Fat Quarter Lotto - Christmas Reds

$$ for Board quilt raffles

Any outstanding Christmas Lotto Blocks

Birthday Table Items

Fiber Name Tag

Saturday, October 6, 2012

This is a
great time of year, with the temperatures cooling off and my citrus trees are
almost ready to pick! I have been
traveling again, and this time it was to Kansas to visit Mary Ann Robker, a
former guild member. She sends her love
and hopes more of us can make a trip her way.
There are several shops in her area as well as other places of
interest. On one visit to see her, we
went to one of Charles Ingals' cabins, made famous by the TV show Little House
on the Prairie. Another time we went to
the Condon Bank in Independence, KS where the famous Dalton Gang met their
doom. The bank has been restored
beautifully and it is like stepping back in time. I hope all of you can get out and visit some
new places in this cooler weather.

In a few
weeks both of my granddaughters will be having birthdays. The time just flies ‑
Geneva will start kindergarten next fall!
Does this make me feel old? Also,
my daughter, Dana, completed her first publication for the church in Richardson
where she works. It was a lot of work
(and stress) for her, but it turned out really nice. I think there were a few nights where she did
not sleep at all!

I have
finished a few quilting projects and look forward to the retreat, October 5-7. You don't know how sorry I was that
we had to reschedule. My husband teases
me that hurricanes are watching for when I set the retreat dates and then come ashore on purpose. Ha Ha.

Auction
Time!! This should be a great one. Jackie and Maureen (and their helper bees)
have worked really hard to make beautiful baskets for us to bid on. I know there is fabulous fabric as well as a
rolling sewing machine tote to consider.
Please come early so you can look at all the goodies and place your
bids.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

I hope this
note finds you and your loved ones safe, dry, and with utilities and your
celebrations of Labor Day without mishap.
It had been horrific this past week.

Before the
storm it was good to get a little relief from the heat. We enjoyed some time playing with the grand
babies and gardening. My citrus trees
made it through the hot summer and I look forward to satsumas this fall!! I am
very excited to meet Karen Stone and hear her lecture next week. Her quilt designs are a beautiful combination
of traditional and modern styles.

Just FYI,
we will postpone the "First & Favorite" quilters for September
& October. These meetings will be
very full and I will do my best to cover the business portion of the meeting
quickly.

Remember, October
and November meetings are 2nd Thursdays of the month rather than the 1st.

**Retreat
News** I have been in close contact with Lori at the Feliciana Retreat
Center. She said the camp often loses
power during any type of windy storm situation and is without power for several
days. She fully anticipates the Center
will be out for a week. The power
companies will work to restore residential power before they work on a camp in
the woods. She and I worked out an
alternate weekend that is available to us, Friday, October 5th thru Sunday,
October 7th.

Joyce is
prepared to give full refunds for those of you who cannot transition to the
rescheduled date.

I'm so sad
for this change in date. This would have
been our largest retreat event ever.

bringdonated Auction items, baskets, etc., see Jackie Wood and Maureen Miller*note: auction donation deadline is Sept. 15th !! This is the last meeting before auction.River City's Auction is October 11th

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

This month has been so busy for me with family issues, I have not had as much time to sew/quilt as I would like. Things are settling down, though. At the retreat (8/31- 9/2) I plan to "catch up" and sew like a maniac!

(P. S. - Jessica is now over the kitchen at the retreat center. Yeah!! Retreat details in the newsletter.)

Last meeting was really great. Our many thanks to Kathy Brown, Ellen Baldrige, and Debbie Hulett for last month's demonstrations. They were most informative and added to our arsenal of quilting techniques. Their tips were wonderful. Thank you all again for doing the program for us in July.

August will also be great as Becky Stringer shares a bit of quilt history with us, as well as the participants in the Paint Chip Challenge . Many quilts will hang for our enjoyment. Our First & Favorites will be Karen Perron and Suzi Montague. Thanks ladies for sharing your quilt journey with us.

I'm getting ready for the GSQA meeting on Saturday and the "Brown" classes this week were great as usual. Hope many of you can join us.

Our local quilting community never ceases to amaze me with its talents, enthusiasm, and generosity. I'm very proud to be a part of such folks. I joined The Giving Quilt last month, but forgot when they meet! Not to worry I'm still working on my challenge piece and it should be ready in a month or so. I also plan to look up the requirements for the Quilts of Valor and make another one of those. Those ladies inspire me to finish projects, which I have a bit of a problem doing. Just ask my family!

See you next week, if not sooner,

Cynthia

The Bring List

Complete to the top Paint Chip Challenge Quilts

Completed Christmas Lotto blocks - get 3 chances to win if you turn them in this meeting

$$$ for more Christmas Lotto blocks - see Elena Acosta and committee members

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The heat has made me stay indoors and sew even more.How about you?I did make it over to Fabric Krazy for her
sale ‑‑ not often do you see fabric of that fine quality for 60% off.I hope her move goes well and I look forward
to seeing her new space.

I also went to the new store, Mia's Fabric Cafe, right down Hwy 16 from
me in Denham Springs. Wow! She is a
rather new quilter, but she did a great job selecting fabric collections for
her store. I especially loved her
60" bolts of LSU and Saints fabric for backing sports-themed quilts.

On another subject, our June Saturday Sew In was well attended. I believe there were 15 people there and
Margie's "Judy Neimeyer" demo was great with tips and shortcuts for
using her patterns. Those that are
working on a "Judy" pattern spoke of continuing that little group,
sort of a support group? Thanks to
Margie. Maybe we can line up a different
demo for the July sew in on 7/14?? Any volunteers?

First & Favorite quilts will be Suzi Montague and Kim Wagner. I look forward to the GSQA meeting in BR and
the "Brown" classes, July 26-28.

We want to keep Melanie in our prayers.
I understand that she is slowly improving and appreciates our/your cards
of encouragement.

We have a great meeting planned for you all, so please join us and have
a Happy 4th of July.

Cynthia

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Hope you are staying cool in this heat wave -- maybe a good time to sit and sew at home? I have enjoyed the Farmer's Market downtown this month with all the fresh vegetables, strawberries, and even cheeses. I love a salad with a home grown tomato.

We have a lot to look forward to this summer and fall with many wonderful teachers like Kathy Brown, Lynn Roddy Brown, and Karen Stone. I also look forward to Margie Bumm sharing her tips for paper piecing on Saturday Sew Day, our "Judy Niemeyer Day". This will be at St. Paul's Church this Saturday, June 9.

We will also hear about our upcoming events such as the auction and fall retreat. Our First and Favorite quilts will be from Mary Woltmann and Connie Day. Thanks ladies for sharing with us. We will also have a new Lotto Block to admire. The packet and directions will be available to buy and then bring your completed block in July for the drawing of a winner!

On another note, we want to continue to pray for Melanie's recovery. What a shock to hear of her sudden illness. I owe a lot to her personally with her help on challenging projects and we all hope for her full recovery. We love you, Melanie.

Monday, April 30, 2012

I hope everyone enjoyed the April meeting as much as I did. The small quilts took my breath away. It was very hard to choose my two
favorites. Also the program was very
informative and even after sewing for over 40 years, I learned a few
things! What do they say, never stop
learning?

I was not able to attend the GSQA show due to prior commitments, but I
look forward to seeing pictures and hearing many good reports. April 25-28th was very exciting for me ‑‑ I
went to the Paducah show for a second time.
Last time, I was not able to go to the quilt museum, but I plan to catch
that this time.

This time of the year is so beautiful with all the flowers and new
leaves on the trees. My gardenias are
blooming and there are blueberries on the bush almost ready to eat. Yum. I
hope you are all enjoying the season.

At our meeting there should be several of us with show & tell from
Paducah. As usual, there were beautiful
quilts, wonderful new tools, and patterns that were all "must haves". Our meeting should be fun with Paula Toups
sharing from her vast quilting experience.
We will also have the First and Favorite quilts from Jessie Comeaux
and Linda Wiggins. Thanks ladies for sharing
your quilt journey with us.

There are many "quilt" things going on in our area, and I am
proud to be a part of such a generous, creative, and hard‑working group. I look forward to seeing you all on
Thursday.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

March has been a beautiful month at my house - flowers, birds, and nice weather. As my mother used to say, "Spring is not really here until we have gotten our hands in the dirt and planted something." This year we have planted 4 tomatoes and another satsuma tree. The first one died-- when it decided to get cold and snow.

We had a great time at the retreat. There are several "show and tell" projects from that weekend.

Back at home, I have been sewing on my first pillowcase dresses for Geneva and Kaitlyn. No need to go to a fabric store to make little dresses when "Grammy" has a room full of fabric!

Fabric? Yes, I've been to the new JoAnns. It is really nice with many sewing/quilting notions I cannot always find at Hancock's or area quilt shops and -- love those coupons. I'm also looking forward to the new quilt shop to open next month. The meeting next week will be great. The front wall should be beautifully covered with the small AAQI quilts. I'm very proud of Sherry and all the others who have helped to support such a worthwhile charity. Also at our meeting we will learn how to really clean our sewing machine(s). I know I use mine so much, I want to do what I can to keep them running well for the rest of my life.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Things have been quiet at my house for now. I made another trip to see Dana in Plano, TX and visited Fabric Fanatics, of course! I am working on a quilt for my older daughter that has large sunflowers in it. If/when I get it done, I'll bring it to show & tell.

The GSQA show is coming up and I hope several of you enter your beautiful quilts. The deadline for paperwork was Fri. Feb. 24th. Wasn't that skit great last month! Thank you Debbie and all your helpers.

The upcoming program for March should be helpful to all of us who send quilts out to be quilted by someone else. We will gain a new appreciation for the challenges these ladies face when handed a top that is less than perfect. There was a listing of long-arm quilters in the Feb. newsletter. And I am looking for to our next two "First and Favorite" presenters: Paula Toups and Suzanne Elliott.

The retreat is coming up and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with the "re-treaters". There is still space available if you would like to attend. Details are in the newsletter. Retreat begins on Friday, the day after the March meeting. We should have some surprising show & tell at the April meeting.

Got to go see you next week.,

Bring List for Meeting:

Patch No Work quilt tops from Beth's class.

Fat Quarters for F.Q. Lotto - Batik Blues from medium to dark. 2 is the maximum.

Fiber Name Tag: Sign in. You could win a $10 gift certificate or $10 cash